Month: October 2010

Phlegmatic- Sanguine


1. Do you prefer to read the book or see the movie?
I try and read the books before I see the movies but there are some movies like the DaVinci Code that they books are too long for me to get through.
2. What is your favorite holiday and why?
Thanksgiving because people tend to ignore it!   My birthday is around it as well so that helps.
3. Which do you like better – the mountains or the beach?
Neither!  I would rather be at home in bed.
4. If money were no consideration, what vehicle would you drive?
A sweet sports car-A mustang or something like that.
5. What is your favorite cold-weather beverage?
I really don’t have one-I just drink Dr Pepper all year around.
6. How do you communicate most often with your friends: phone, email, text, face-to-face, or Facebook?
I do all of those but I don’t talk on the phone very much because it bugs me.  I spend all day on the phone and the last thing I wanna do is talk on it at night.
7. How do you receive your mail? Mailbox on the porch, at the end of the driveway, down the street, or post office box?
Mailbox at the end of the driveway but I hardly ever get it I usually just get mine off the counter in the house.
8. Of the four basic personality types – sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, and choleric – which is your strongest? Which is your least evident? (See definitions below.)
Phlegmatic- Sanguine9. What do you miss the most about being 20?
I am still in my 20’s so I can’t really miss it yet and I hated being 20 because it was when I placed my daughter for adoption it was a super tough year to say the least.
10. How long from the time you get up, does it take you to get ready to walk out the door in the morning?
About 30 to 40 mins depending on how fast I move.
11. Who handles the car maintenance and pays the bills in your family?
I do all of it for myself and where I live now they both do it.
12. For those in the US, how many states have you visited? For those outside the US, how many provinces/other countries have you visited?
10 or more-I went with my husband on his truck (he is a long haul truck driver) for a few weeks here and there so I have been to a few.
Personality type definitions courtesy Wikipedia:

Sanguine

The Sanguine temperament personality is fairly extroverted. People of a sanguine temperament tend to enjoy social gatherings, making new friends and tend to be quite loud. They are usually quite creative and often daydream. However, some alone time is crucial for those of this temperament. Sanguine can also mean very sensitive, compassionate and thoughtful. Sanguine personalities generally struggle with following tasks all the way through, are chronically late, and tend to be forgetful and sometimes a little sarcastic. Often, when pursuing a new hobby, interest is lost quickly when it ceases to be engaging or fun. They are very much people persons. They are talkative and not shy. For some people, these are the ones you want to be friends with and usually they become life long friends.

Choleric

A person who is choleric is a doer. They have a lot of ambition, energy, and passion, and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were cholerics. They like to be leaders and in charge of everything.

Melancholic

A person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a melancholic disposition. Often very considerate and get rather worried when they could not be on time for events, melancholics can be highly creative in activities such as poetry and art – and can become occupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world. A melancholic is also often a perfectionist. They are often self-reliant and independent; one negative part of being a melancholic is sometimes they can get so involved in what they are doing they forget to think of others.

Phlegmatic

Phlegmatics tend to be self-content and kind. They can be very accepting and affectionate. They may be very receptive and shy and often prefer stability to uncertainty and change. They are very consistent, relaxed, rational, curious, and observant, making them good administrators and diplomats.

MS Tuesdays-First Pill

This week I am going to write about about Gilenya which is the first pill that you can take for MS.  This is super exciting because up and til now the only treatments were shots or an infusion.  This is a pill that you take once a day.  I have been looking for information on the drug but it is hard because it is so new that there isn’t tons for information out there yet.  I did find on WebMd the following information:
Gilenya can have severe toxicity. In clinical trials, side effects linked to Gilenya included:

  • Elevated liver enzymes
  • Macular edema (swelling of the central portion of the retina, causing distorted vision)
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • Shortness of breath
  • Bronchitis
  • Diarrhea
  • Bradycardia (slowing of the heartbeat, seen only upon first treatment. The FDA panel recommended that patients be required to receive their first dose under medical supervision).

I can’t really say that this is any worse side effects than the drug I am on.  All the new treatments are going to have scary side effect that go along with them.  I also found that two people had fatal herpes infections.  They were being treated at 2.5 times the dosage that FDA approved though. 

 Here are a few other sites that have information on them if you are interested.  I hope this was helpful!
http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseaction/show/pageid/1309
http://www.drugs.com/gilenya.html

New Design & My Latest Infusion

As you should have noticed I got a new design from Jacqui!  I love this one and may keep it longer than the last one lol.  I am finding I get bored easily and love to have new blog designs.  I need to leave it along for awhile because I can’t afford to keep changing it every few months.  So this one will stay for awhile!

I had my infusion on Friday and it went pretty well.  I didn’t take the Benadryl that I usually take because I wanted to see if I could get along with out it.  I am happy to say that I didn’t need it this time.  I did get a headache but that is pretty normal.  The one thing I did notice about this infusion is I was super tired after it.  I hate how I am tired for a few days after and then come Monday or Tuesday I am good to go.  Oh well if that is one of the only things I have to complain about I will deal with it because I am starting to feel better after them again.  It has taken a few months to get back to where I feel better after them.  Now I need to start walking after work so I can lose all the weight I have put on these past few months because I haven’t been able to do much because I was so tired. 

I hope everyone has a great Monday!  I may be missing for a few days because work is super busy for me right now.  I had tons of work left on Thursday and since I am off this coming Friday as well I need to get totally caught up!  Wish me luck!

Wacky Jacqui Designs Sale

I am hosting a sale for Wacky Jacqui’s Designs.  She is my blog designer.  She did the design I have right now and she is working on a new design for me as we speak.  She is super easy to work with and will do whatever you want her to do.  She sends you everything for you to approve before she will use them.  I am a difficult person to please if she can please me enough for me to be getting a second design from her then she is great!  She is offering her biggest package that is usually $65 and she is selling it to people for only $45!!!!!!  This is a great deal!  If you like me design go check her out and tell her I sent you!

The package includes:

The Everything Package    $65.00
• 2 or 3 column design
• Custom background
• Custom header
• Matching font color
• Sidebar titles (unlimited)
• Custom signature
• Custom post divider
• Social network icons
• Convert to a 3 column layout
• Custom blog button
• Matching profile picture
• Navigation bar with text or images
• Matching twitter background
• Favicon
• Deletion of Blogger navigation bar if desired
• Installation
*Can have Post divider/signature combo instead of Custom signature and Custom post divider*

A Friend For Me

 
A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself

Friendship is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. At first I thought about friendship in a negative way. As in, why do I feel like I am one of the few women I know who does not have a best friend? Even when I was growing up, I did not have a best friend until I was in high school. For many reasons, that friendship ended long ago. At one time in my life, I thought that having a best friend was something that was absolutely necessary for someone to have a complete life. I was envious of all those women I saw who had a BFF.

I used to think if only I was more sociable – less of a loner – then I would develop that forever friendship with someone. I worked hard at it to. The results were less than desirable. It seemed like the more I tried, and the more emotionally invested I became, the more disappointed I was when that person could not live up to the extremely high expectations I had of them.

Something has dawned on me lately. If my friendship needs are being met by several wonderful women, where is it written that I have to have that best friend I coveted for so long? I realized after some personal struggles over the last few weeks that there are several women in my life who fulfill that BFF role. Each one has qualities that I admire, wisdom that they share, and a caring heart that shows in everything they do. Each one has different personalities, experiences, and quirks. Combine them all together and they make the ultimate best friend.

My point is this, if you are anything like me and feel that you are lacking something socially, take stock of who you have in your life. Maybe together, they make that complete person that you are looking for.

Our Attitude Matters

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” 
Francesca Reigler      

About three weeks ago, I signed up for the SITSGIRLS Tribe Building/Blogging Support event.  We started last week, were assigned to groups with animal names (Hare & Lamby for me), got to connect with a new set of bloggers with somewhat similar niches, and were off and running to complete daily tasks/assignments. It has been a whirlwind of activity ever since and one of the assignments was to pair up with a fellow team member and guest blog for each other today.
As serendipity would have it, Margaret and I connected and agreed to give it a shot. Margaret and I consulted with each other and the result is what you are staring at here …Adapted from another post.

Regardless of what we believe, one thing is certain: our attitude accompanies us on every path we travel and serves as judge and jury to our actions; we must choose wisely.

A Case in Point:
When I was in graduate school, I had the good fortune of studying with a beloved and highly regarded Professor of Clinical Psychology; we’ll call him Prof Zee here. Prof Zee’s classes were always packed with eager students because he had a reputation for being a brilliant, compassionate and attentive teacher. He was skilled at distilling complex theories and equations into clear and understandable language and even students from other departments lined up to register for and take his fundamentals course.

To our dismay, Prof Zee announced at the beginning of one academic year that he planned to retire and move away from New York.  Everyone scrambled to register for his final semester class and those of us who were fortunate enough to attend that final course were forever blessed by the wisdom and skill of a master teacher.

On the first day of class, Prof Zee advised us to “stop worrying about failure or success and focus on being present and engaged.” We were. Throughout the course, he engaged and challenged us with individual and group assignments.  For our final exams, he gave us both a take home and in-class exam. We came to our last class both exhilarated and saddened.  Somehow, we suspected that Prof Zee had something up his sleeve. He gave back the exams and instructed us to spend a few minutes reflecting on our efforts throughout the semester. Then he said, “I want you to write the final cumulative grade you know you deserve on your exam sheet and give it back to me.” We did and quickly handed our papers back.

Once all the grade sheets were returned to Prof Zee, he led us in a riveting discussion on how our beliefs, attitudes, and training shape our choices, decisions, and ultimately, our outcomes. What were other internal/external predictors? He called on several students to ask why they gave themselves a low/high grade. The answers were revelatory and ran the gamut; I earned it, I didn’t deserve it, I shoulda-coulda-woulda, I know my stuff and on and on. There was a heated discussion on the impact expectations and a positive attitude has on our sense of self worth and value.
In the end, we agreed that a healthy self-image, a positive mental attitude gives us more “A+” Days. We have free will to make our own choices and it is up to us to stay stuck in a rut or go with the flow. To make us remember this, Prof Zee gave us the final grade we wrote down … we deserved it!  What are you choosing to do?

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Elizabeth Obih-Frank believes in positive kismet/fate and writes two bi-weekly blogs; Mirth and Motivation  and Positive Kismet  where she shares motivational, goodwill pieces and more. She is a mom to twins, a master trainer/educator, former real estate program director, writer, healer, motivational speaker and social media fan. She loves a good laugh, good food and an occasional jaunt to somewhere around the world.